On Wednesday night, I went to the Brattle Theatre to see a 50th anniversary screening of Serpico which is my second favorite movie after Midnight Cowboy.
My first recollection of seeing Serpico was on late night TV when I was about 11 years old. This would have been around the time I was allowed to begin staying up to watch late night TV. Serpico made a deep and everlasting impression on me. In particular, I was drawn to Al Pacino's tormented performance and was struck by the isolation and loneliness of Pacino's portrayal. The closing shot of Pacino as Serpico with his sheepdog as he is about to leave America to set sail for Switzerland is among the saddest sights I've ever seen. Yet it is one of those movies that I will see at every opportunity.
Of course, with every viewing I see something I hadn't notice before. In this case, it was Judd Hirsch who has an uncredited role as a cop who is seen at the beginning and end of the film when Serpico has been hospitalized. Five years later, Hirsch would star in Taxi. I once also saw him in the play Conversations With My Father at The Old Vic in London. But that's another story for another day.
I must admit though that I have different opinions about Serpico and Frank Serpico himself despite the fact there would be no Serpico without Frank Serpico. Nevertheless, Serpico is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist and an outspoken apologist for the Palestinians. While I respect his bravery, his word is not gospel.
About 15 years ago or so when I owned Serpico on DVD, I remember the late Serpico director Sidney Lumet speaking of Serpico in less than illuminating terms. I am paraphrasing but Lumet basically said that Serpico had fantasies about being friends and hanging out with Al Pacino and other Hollywood celebrities. He added that Serpico made such a nuisance of himself, he barred him from the set. Lumet said he told Serpico, "You're just research."
Research or not, Serpico's bravery cannot be called into question as he stuck to his guns knowing he could be shot by one and this was exactly what happened when he was shot in the face during a drug raid gone wrong in Brooklyn in February 1971 with his fellow police officers leaving him for dead. It was only last year when Serpico was finally recognized for being injured in the line of duty with a medal of honor.
Nevertheless, Serpico is of the opinion that police corruption is worse than ever. Well, I suppose as long as police have the power of life and death then corruption is bound to follow. With that said, there will always be police. Even if we were to defund them, there would be some kind of organization to take its place only financed with private dollars with no public accountability.
Where there are people there are problems. So long as people are fallible then we will have flawed institutions. The best we can do at least where it concerns law enforcement is to have the Frank Serpicos and those who follow in his example to keep them honest.
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